“Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people" [Def: The (International) Ecotourism Society 1990] Ecotourism must contain three basic elements for it to be complete:

It must provide for environmental conservation.

It must include meaningful local community participation.

It must be viable profitably to enable it to sustain itself.

Promoting

Environmental Education – raising awareness and appreciation in the people, both within the state and in the visitors from outside, for the diverse biodiversity, culture and unique ecological values; to care for natural heritage and alongside to create an income base for the community---an incentive for the future protection of natural assets.

Decentralized and equitable nature based tourism, avoiding bottlenecks and overdevelopment of individual areas, and dispersing the distribution of benefit to the local community. Biodiversity is to be enhanced as also natural asset maintenance and improvement is to be ensured; alongside the conservation areas are protected.

Factoring in participation and partnerships—interdepartmental, public-private, non-governmental organizations/community based organizations, panchayati raj institutions to help generate income through sustainable tourism.

Livelihood opportunities for rural households from home-stays/homesteads and provision of employment opportunities and livelihood enhancement from service provision, whether as entrepreneurs, guides, porters, cooks, etc.

Want to help the environment
while you are on holidays? The Ecotourism Ujung Kulon certification program
allows responsible travel consumers to be able to easily identify operators who
are committed to ensuring their products are environmentally sustainable,
economically viable and socially and culturally responsible.

The Eco Certification logo means
that you are guaranteed to experience a genuine and authentic tour, attraction
or accommodation that looks after the environment. The Eco Certification
program has been developed in Ujung Kulon by Ecotourism Ujung Kulon and is now
being exported to the rest of the world as the International Ecotourism
Standard. Ecotourism Ujung Kulon is the
peak national body for Ujung Kulon’s ecotourism industry. Formed in 1991 and an
incorporated, non-profit organization it has developed and manages the
Ecotourism and EcoGuide certification programs.

Those operators whose tour,
attraction or accommodation meet and comply with the core criteria of the
Ecotourism Ujung Kulon Eco program and receive certification can genuinely
claim to provide an authentic ecotourism or nature tourism experience. The
certification process is supported by an assessment process, three yearly
review and audits of operators to ensure the rigorous credibility of the
program is maintained. Environmental benefits flow from improved practices that
lead to fewer negative environmental and cultural impacts.

You can identify eco certified
operators and their level of certification by the eco certification tick logos,
which may be used only alongside products that have gained certification. Nature
Tourism – Eco certified: Tourism in a natural area that leaves minimal impact
on the environment.

Ecotourism – Eco certified:
Tourism in a natural area that offers interesting ways to learn about the
environment with an operator who uses resources wisely, contributes to the
conservation of the environment and helps local communities.

Advanced Ecotourism – Eco
certified : Ujung Kulon’s leading and most innovative ecotourism products, providing an opportunity to learn about the
environment with an operator who is committed to achieving best practice when
using resources wisely, contributing to the conservation of the environment and
helping local communities.

Eco Certified Tourism: is the
generic logo and is used by companies whose products have multiple levels of
certification achieved